VEGAN HOT CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES

I’m always trying to come up with different flavours for cupcakes unlike the usual vanilla or chocolate. Hot chocolate is my favourite drink for this time of year, so I decided to create some hot chocolate flavoured cupcakes. I used Cadburys hot chocolate powder instead of cocoa powder which gives the cake a much softer flavour and literally tastes exactly like hot chocolate. I used butter icing on the top to look like whipped cream, vegan marshmallows, chocolate sauce and hot chocolate powder sprinkled on top to make it look as authentic as possible.

Preheat your oven to 180°c and line a baking tray with cupcake cases. Mix all of the dry ingredients together, then add all of the wet ingredients and mix thoroughly. Fill the cupcake cases with the mixture and bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until a knife or cake skewer comes out of the middle clean. Take the cupcakes out of the oven when they’re cooked and place on a cooling rack to cool fully before decorating.

Method for decoration

Once the cakes are completely cooled or while they are cooling make the butter icing. I never measure this part out and always just guess how much I need. I usually start off with a desert spoon full of butter and gradually add more icing sugar as I go along to get the right consistency. The consistency should be stiff enough so that it holds its shape while its piped onto the cupcakes. You can add vanilla extract or some hot chocolate powder to the butter icing for a different taste. Once piped onto the cupcakes add some marshmallows, chocolate sauce and dust on some hot chocolate powder for decoration.